Saturday, February 20, 2010

Surly Big Dummy: One of 51 "Perfect Things"

The March 2010 issue of Outside magazine contains a list of "51 Perfect Things," also known as their "first annual Editor's choice guide."

Coming in at number 22 are "utilitarian bikes," or more specifically, the Surly Big Dummy. "This steel beauty, designed specifically for the Xtracycle cargo extension, will take you and, say, a couple of kids on a long haul to the park and still have plenty of room to pick up a load of groceries on the way home. Imagine the possibilities."

The list contains not just products, but concepts as well. At number 45 is "A strange new city as seen from a bicycle," such as Amsterdam (pictured here).

11 comments:

I was just talking to Josh in R/R about these a coupe days ago and how you need one in stock or at least an Xtracycle demo bike. A bike like this would be near impossible to sell sight unseen. While sure, stocking one or two and a couple free radicals would put a small dent in your open to buy dollars elsewhere, Think about the impact getting a few of these out there would make and how far that would go in reinforcing the "Define your life" mantra. I have been looking at these for some time. I know all about them, but even I wouldn’t drop that kind of coin without being able to ride one first.

We hear ya, Fatty. We are planning to bring in more Surlys for stock this year than we have in the past, but mainly our better-selling Cross-Checks and Long Haul Truckers. However, it is possibly we'll throw a Big Dummy in the mix. In the meantime, there are a couple of us (myself included) who have Xtracycles who would be glad to bring them in and let you test them out. Just drop us a note or call to coordinate the timing.

Wait, now that I think about it, I have been doing some work on my Xtracycle, and have not had the chance to ride it home yet, so it's sitting in the Peninsula store ride now. Stop down any time to check it out!

All I'm saying is it's much harder to sell what you dont have in stock. Not to mention, a Big Dummy would be a great piece of eye candy/conversation starter. I just think it's kind of frustrating that I can go look at road bikes, mtbs, hybrids, etc. absolutely anywhere but no one in the Cleveland area making any kind of small investment in introducing their customers to longtail bikes when just about everyone has access to them through QBP.

One of our guys in Rocky River has an Xtracycle, too. I don't want to speak for him, but I'll check with him offline, and I'm sure he'd let you check it out, but the issue may be that they're not exactly convenient to get on a car rack, and I don't think he lives close enough to ride it in on a regular basis.

Most other bike shops cater more to the racer/high-performance crowd, and so don't even talk about bikes like the Big Dummy. We think we do more than anyone else to cater to the commuter/utility cycling crowd. We've been talking up the Big Dummy ever since it came out, as well as the Xtracycle, and like I said, maybe we'll get one to show off soon.

Scott here, chiming in from Minneapolis, where I just so happen to be meeting with the good folks from Surly. (Check our Facebook page later for the picture proof!) I have worked out a deal with them to bring in a demo Surly Big Dummy (18" green) with the Xtracycle kit for test riding.

It's another Surly miracle! The good news: We actually ran into John at the Pugsley race last night. The bad news: He says he gave your t-shirt to the girl that was in his shop who said she knew you. So now we're issuing an APB for that Bozeman Bike Polo t-shirt -- and asking for another Surly miracle.